Technical Field
The present disclosure relates to the field of processing audio signals. In particular, to a system and method for speech reinforcement.
Related Art
In-car communication (ICC) systems may be integrated into an automobile cabin to facilitate communication between occupants of the vehicle by relaying signals captured by microphones and reproducing them in audio transducers within the vehicle. For example, a speech signal received by a microphone near a driver is fed to an audio transducer near third row seats to allow third row occupants to hear the driver's voice clearly. Delay and relative level between a direct speech signal and a reproduced sound of a particular talker at a listener's location are important to ensure the naturalness of conversation. Reproducing the driver's voice in audio transducers situated in close proximity to the occupants may cause the occupants to perceive the driver's voice originating from both the driver's spatial location and from the spatial location of the audio transducers. In many cases, the perception of the driver's voice coming from two different spatial locations may be distracting to the occupants.